Attendance poor but cap cash rich

Opponent File
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks play in the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Their 2002 - 2003 record was 35 - 47 (fifth in the Central). Here's what Joe had to say about Atlanta in his Central Division Preview. Here's the Atlanta Hawks Roster.

Local Paper:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com | Hawks
ESPN.com | Hawks
NBA.com | Hawks
The Sporting News | Hawks
Sportsline.com | Hawks

Head Coach: Terry Stotts.
2003 Draft: G Boris Diaw, France (#21); G Travis Hansen, BYU (#37).
New Players: SF Boris Diaw (draft); PG Jacque Vaughn (Magic); Stephen Jackson (Spurs).
Season Slogan: Stay competitive, win back fans and aim for respectability, and for God's sake, no money-back guarantees.
Record vs. Nets: 0 - 1
G10: Nets 100, Hawks 85
Other Opponent Files

Projected Central Division Standing:
Chris Carrino: 7
Tim Capstraw: 4
Ian Eagle: 5
Joe Netsfan: 7
Steve Politi: 6

Atlanta Hawks (18 - 35) - Wednesday, February 18, 2004,
7:30 PM - Continental Airlines Arena
Hudson Hawk
If you create it, will they come? The Hawks, possessors of potentially the largest cap space in the NBA come June, are trading for players with contracts that expire after this season in order to rebuild the franchise from the ground up. The latest trade had Rasheed Wallace and all his baggage (plus Wesley Person) moving to Atlanta for Sharif Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff. Wallace is expected to play out the string and sign with the New York Knicks in July (and according to Peter Vecsey, that's a done deal). That is, if he stays put for the rest of the season. More rumors have him moving to Detroit (again, thanks to Peter Vecsey) for 5 contracts that expire at season's end (Bob Sura, Lindsey Hunter, Zeljko Rebraca, Darvin Ham and Tremaine Fowlkes, plus a #1 pick). Oh, and they were also part of the Keith Van Horn dealings, moving Nazr Mohammed to the Knicks while also receiving more contract expirees in Michael Doleac and Joel Przybilla. Got all that? What that leaves in Atlanta is a team that doesn't know each other, a coach who would have been long gone had the ownership situation been settled sooner, and rumors that the Hawks will go hard after Kobe Bryant (and ironically, Byron Scott as their new coach). Can the Nets seal the deal on their club-record setting 11th straight win and NBA record 10th straight win to start a coaching career (Lawrence Frank) with a cash-out against the Hawks? Or will the Hawks find a bonus payday with their second straight win against a quality team (in some freak scheduling, the Hawks surprised the Mavs at home last Monday night and have been off for the last eight days)?
- Joe

Atlanta Hawks Cheat Sheet
The Story from Atlanta: What is Rasheed Wallace thinking about his chances of turning around the Hawks? He's not aiming high, or even sure exactly what he's in for - as you can see by this quote. "As far as the record goes, I'm really not sure because I don't really watch the standings or keep track of stats or nothing like that, but hey, we can go ahead and wreck a whole lot of guys' playoffs right now."

This matchup between the two teams with the worst attendence in the NBA will almost surely threaten to set the Nets back in the race to finish without the dubious distinction of worst attended franchise. Look for about 7500 people in the CAA tomorrow night...

Pain Game: CJoel Przybilla (knee), G Terrell Brandon (knee - will not play this season and is expected to retire) and F-C Obinna Ekezie (knee) are on the injured list.

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